David Arthur Skeel
S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law

David Skeel is S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is the author of True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World (InterVarsity, 2014); The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and Its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2011); Icarus in the Boardroom (Oxford, 2005); Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001); and numerous articles on bankruptcy, corporate law, financial regulation, Christianity and law, and other topics.
Books
TRUE PARADOX: HOW CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE OF OUR COMPLEX WORLD (IVP Books, 2014).
[Available Here]
BANKRUPTCY (Foundation Press 9th ed., 2012) (with William Warren and Daniel J. Bussel).
THE NEW FINANCIAL DEAL: UNDERSTANDING THE DODD-FRANK ACT AND ITS (UNINTENDED) CONSEQUENCES (Wiley, 2011).
[Available Here]
DEBT'S DOMINION: A HISTORY OF BANKRUPTCY LAW IN AMERICA (Princeton University Press 2001).
[Available Here]
Articles and Book Chapters
Distorted Choice in Corporate Bankruptcy, 130 YALE L. J. 366 (2020).
Unwritten Rules and the New Contract Paradigm, 36 EMORY BANKR. DEV. J. 733 (2020)
Divided by the Sermon on the Mount, 47 PEPP. L. REV. 495 (2020).
Reflections on Two Years of P.R.O.M.E.S.A., 87 REV. JUR. U.P.R. 862 (2018).
The Empty Idea of “Equality of Creditors,” 166 U. PA. L. REV. 699 (2018).
Bankruptcy on the Side, 112 NW. U. L. REV. 255 (2017) (with Kenneth Ayotte and Anthony J. Casey).
The Bylaw Puzzle in Delaware Corporate Law, 72 BUS. LAW. 1 (2016/2017).
What is a Lien? Lessons from Municipal Bankruptcy, 2015 U. ILL. L. REV. 675.
Bankruptcy Law as a Liquidity Provider, 80 U. CHI. L. REV. 1557 (2013) (with Kenneth Ayotte).
Is Bankruptcy the Answer for Troubled Cities and States?, 50 HOUS. L. REV. 1063 (2013).
States of Bankruptcy, 79 U. CHI. L. REV. 677 (2012).
Christianity of the (Modest) Rule of Law, 8 U. PA. J. CONST. L. 809 (2006) (with William Stuntz).
More publications can be found here.
Working Papers
Christianity and Bankruptcy, in CHRISTIANITY AND MARKET REGULATION (Daniel Crane & Samuel Gregg eds., Cambridge University Press forthcoming 2020). (forthcoming 2020)
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Bankruptcy for Banks: A Tribute (and Little Plea) to Jay Westbrook, in BANKRUPTCY'S UNIVERSAL PRAGMATIST: FESTSCHRIFT IN HONOR OF JAY WESTBROOK (forthcoming 2020). (forthcoming 2020)
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A Two-Step Plan for Puerto Rico (February 4, 2016), U of Penn, Inst for Law & Econ Research Paper No. 16-3 (with Clayton P. Gillette). (forthcoming)
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A Theory of Law Firm Globalization (unpublished manuscript, 2008) (with John Armour)
Why Do Distressed Companies Choose Delaware? An Empirical Analysis of Venue Choice in Bankruptcy, (U of Penn, Inst for Law & Econ Research Paper No. 03-29, October 2004) (with Kenneth Ayotte).
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Research Areas
- Christianity and the Law
- Corporate Law
- Bankruptcy
- Debt Relief and Sovereign Bankruptcy
- Law and Religion
- Law and Poetry
Positions
Penn Law - S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law (2004- ); Professor of Law (1999-2003)
Member, European Corporate Governance Institute (2007- ); American College of Bankruptcy (2009- )
Visiting Professor - Georgetown, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin
Temple - Associate Professor of Law (1993-98); Assistant Professor (1990-93)
Professional Activities
Executive Board of American Association of Law Schools Committee on Business Associations (2007-2010)
Research Associate, European Corporate Governance Institute (since 2006)
Member, American College of Bankruptcy (since 2009)
Board of Trustees, Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project, Philadelphia, PA (2000-2006)
Courses
- Corporations
- Bankruptcy
- Debt Relief and Sovereign Debt Restructuring
- Law, Literature, and Interpretation
- Christian Perspectives on Law